Epa Analyzes Waste At Stafford Factory

Toxic Material Found In Old Barrels

STAFFORD — When the old Stafford Printers abandoned its factory on West Street about 15 years ago, left behind were hundreds of barrels of waste that the federal government is now rushing to clean up.

Environmental Protection Agency officials said Tuesday they are continuing to analyze the more than 300 barrels of toxic waste found in the building, which has been declared a federal Superfund site.

``We've packed approximately 300 drums. We've started sampling and analyzing the drums on site,'' said AmyJean Lussier, on-site coordinator for the EPA. ``Mostly, we think that it's dyes, solvents, acids, glues.''

On March 4, EPA officials deemed the site so bad that it needed immediate attention and gave it Superfund status. The federal Superfund law was set up to deal with the nation's worst toxic waste sites.

Officials found the barrels in the building were stacked on pallets, Lussier said, and many had tipped over or begun to disintegrate and leak. Dyes of many colors, including green, red and blue, had spilled. Officials also found asbestos in insulation around the boiler and piping.

There was about 2 inches of water on the ground, which had leaked in through a faulty roof and mixed with some of the waste. The liquids flowed out of drains on the floor of the factory, Lussier said. However, federal and town officials do not know where the drains lead.

Lussier and First Selectman John Julian said the drains either lead into the Middle River, which is less than a swimming pool's length from the factory, or into the town's sanitary sewer system. Neither is an attractive option.

The sewer system, Lussier said, may not be able to process the solvents. And any leakage into the Middle River could pollute the water, officials said.

``We have no way of telling [where the drains go] at this time,'' Julian said. ``It's in the hands of EPA and [the state Department of Environmental Protection] now.'' The drains have been sealed.

EPA workers have spent the last few weeks sealing the leaking drums and moving them to a safe place inside the building. Soon, the EPA will begin accepting bids from waste disposal companies to properly dispose of the barrels. Lussier said the process could take another four to eight weeks.

The property was a cloth printing company until it closed 15 years ago. Town officials have been trying to collect more than $200,000 in back taxes from the building's current owners, MCM Real Corp.

On Feb. 29, Julian, accompanied by representatives from the DEP and the attorney general's office, attended a bankruptcy hearing on the property in New York City. The trustees for MCM wanted to abandon the property, but a federal bankruptcy court judge denied the motion.

After completing the work, which will cost in excess of $300,000, the EPA has three years to recoup the costs of the cleanup from the building's owners. Lussier said she did not know if MCM will face any fines or other federal action. However, she said the barrels should have been removed.

Meanwhile, eight other tenants in the commercial building continue to do business.

``They mostly tend to stay out of the area that we're working,'' Lussier said.